MERKABA AND SOUND MEDITATIONS:

SECOND TRIP TO EGYPT: NOVEMBER 2009

This was the second Merkaba trip to Egypt organised from Poland by Agnieszka Jurko together with Egyptian tour guide Mohamed Yossry, with Tom DeWinter once more teaching the Merkaba meditation and myself guiding the group with sound, relaxations and song and again, it was a wonderfully diverse and interesting time not only for all our joint spiritual paths but also for having fun together in unusual and interesting ways. I think for myself, this is what brings such a different quality to the whole trip – that the whole group becomes immersed in a spiritual practice which knits them tightly as one, and this helps us to experience everything more harmoniously and on a deeper level, as well as allowing us to let go and simply have fun in this amazing and magical country.

The two trips to Luxor and Cairo were beautifully organised. Of course, we were travelling from Hurghada which meant getting up in the middle of the night and sleeping on the coach – but it was well worth it.

When the lush green pastures surrounding the Nile at Luxor came into view, I had the same feeling as last time of coming home. Perhaps it is because of travelling through so many miles of barren desert, but as you reach Luxor everything seems to come to life with the villages spread along the river banks, smallholdings, tumbledown houses, goats, donkeys, dogs, children, all connected to the life-giving Nile waters. We headed for the Valley of the Kings which was bearably hot this time (after scorchingly high temperatures on our last visit in May) and I was once again entranced by the still, quiet beauty of the inner tombs and the incredible decorative paintings which brought the walls to life. It seemed that almost everywhere we went on this trip, Tom simply invited me to sing and even I found it amazing to hear my voice resonating through the ancient chambers – a privilege not many singers have experienced, but still more was in store when we visited the temple of Egyptian Queen Hatshepsut.

The temple has been refurbished by a Polish architect and sits majestically in a vast, valley of towering stone hills. As our group walked towards the long flights of stone steps stretching gradually upwards in the hot sunshine, two eagles circled high above us (the native Indian sign for spirit) and half-way up the steps, Tom led us into the small temple on the left-hand side which Hatshepsut had dedicated to the goddess Hathor (or Venus), where he guided us to connect with the energy from the planet Venus by chanting El Kalim Om 108 times. As we finished our chant, he whispered in my ear: ‘Sing something high!’ He later told me he just knew this very high sound was needed to enable the connection. So I stood there with eyes closed and let my voice go.  The sound rose higher and higher and, unawares to me, began to echo through the temple and out among the rocks of the valley so that other visitors apparently heard it too. All I could feel was this amazing energy as the sound seemed to connect with the very stones of the Hathor temple. When I finally finished and opened my eyes, there was a mild panic taking place with the temple guards as apparently, singing like that without permission was strictly not allowed! But I was so glad I had done it. It seemed to heal something deep inside me and I felt incredibly happy and peaceful after the experience.
On to the Temple at Karnak, beautiful and magical to me as we walked through and then sat outside on a private place for our group on the rocks at sunset, tuned in to the energy and then made sound together. I could have sat there all night just gazing at the silhouette of the temple as the stars came up and feeling the whisperings of the ancient people. Instead, as the group was given free time to wander at will, I took myself once more to the area which was once known as the Temple of Healing where I sat in solitude and silence, my back against one of the huge towering pillars, connecting to the sacred symbols that cover them and asking that every part of my inner wisdom might now awaken.

We had paid for a special police escort to get us back to Hurghada so that we could stay later at Luxor that evening (otherwise you must leave the town by 6pm to cross the desert, after which it is not considered safe) and this gave us time to visit the wonderful Luxor temple, quite magical at night with its vast array of  towering statues so beautifully lit and the great open concert hall which was used in ancient times for music and still is today.

The day planned for our trip to Cairo had to be changed. This is something you simply have to accept in Egypt where everything relies on permissions and government officials, and plans can often change at the last minute. The result was that our resident astrologer Romek pointed out we would now be visiting the Great Pyramid under an astrological aspect of ...Sudden Death!  For a short while this became a challenge to some members of the group (because it is actually quite physically strenuous to negotiate the narrow, often steep and sometimes very low-ceilinged passageways from chamber to chamber in the pyramids, with very little ventilation) until Tom helped everyone to prepare by focussing on ‘dying to a part of themselves’ or ‘letting go of ego’ for the day in question.

Again, it was an early start and a long coach drive to Cairo, but a fantastic trip starting with a visit to the Coptic Christian church of S. Maria, built on the site where the Holy Family reputedly stayed during their travels in the Holy Land. It was fascinating to stand in the church and hear the mass spoken in Arabic and see the Egyptian women with their veils taking part. Then on to the Cairo museum, packed full of so many artefacts you could probably spend a whole week in there without getting bored! Mohamed had arranged a wonderful lunch for us on board a luxury boat on the Nile and informed us that (for an extra price paid to the officials) we could have private time just for our group at the Sphinx. Everyone was really excited, because there is quite a large fence around it so it’s not usually allowed to get up really close, and Tom suggested we had a meditation in between the paws of this giant and mystical creature!

But first, it was the Cheops pyramid again. Hot, stuffy, sweaty but inspiring as we clambered up and down the passageways, going from the lower chamber to the Queen’s and finally the King’s chamber. There is something so incredible about a group making sound together inside a pyramid and really, you have to be there to experience it. It is so powerful. As we filled the King’s chamber with sacred sounds and tones, I felt as though the entire peak of the pyramid was revolving and flashing out light like some kind of electrical transmitter.

The officials had changed our entry times at the last minute. We had planned to go to the Sphinx first but something had happened and they had sent us to the Cheops pyramid, and now we had just 20 minutes left to experience the Sphinx first-hand. But what minutes they were! As we clambered down the path towards it, I glanced up at the surrounding desert. Night was falling on the huge shapes of the pyramids, and as a crescent moon lit a star-filled sky, silhouetted against the dark blue were the heads of two camels being ridden off into the sand dunes. It was a picture I will hold in my memory for ever. The group assembled in between the giant paws to meditate, and I sang my song ‘Peace in the Valley’ which felt perfect for that moment.  As I sang, I was aware of the massive Sphinx towering above me and the wall built below its chest covered with sacred symbols which magnetized me to it so much that just as we were leaving, I ran back to it, calling to Agnieszka to take a photo. I placed my hands palms-down on the symbols and a vibration poured down through them so strongly that my arms began to shake. At the same time, I made a prayer, a real commitment, dedicating myself for the rest of the time I have left on this planet, to utilise my full power, to serve without ego. It was an amazing and powerful feeling and a real gift.

As well as our wonderful spiritual journey together, we also put aside time to play on this Merkaba trip. We spent one afternoon at a Safari park whizzing around the desert on individual quad bikes, everyone in head scarves tied beautifully in traditional style for us by the local men to keep the sand out of eyes and mouth and nose. We then had a fleet of white jeeps to drive us (rather bouncily) across the desert where we climbed a large pile of rocks to sit on high on top and meditate together. It was so peaceful. Just sand and sun and air and silence, only one single tree in sight. Then we joyfully slide down the sand dunes on the other side to be driven further to sample a commercially-made ‘Bedouin village’ created for camel rides, demonstrations of traditional arts such as coloured sand in glass bottles and bread-making, plus supper with a display of belly dancing and an amazing young whirling dervish of a boy who made you dizzy just to look at him!

Another day we took a trip to the coral reef on a glass-bottomed boat - wonderful to sit there and be so close to the sea bed and see all the multi-coloured fish. I led the group in a short sound meditation beneath the sea and I have to say, it was glorious to connect with sound to this underworld of water and I had a real feeling of oneness with everything, all creatures, as we sent out our sound together.  Then I picked up my guitar and simply sang to the fish as they swam by – it was such fun!

During our trips to Luxor and Cairo, we also managed to visit a first-class Papyrus shop, an alabaster carving factory and another ‘alternative remedies’ shop where the owner personally makes sets of  chakra oils and beautiful perfumed oils such as ‘Healing of the soul’. On my last visit two of the Polish women had gifted me a beautiful full-length turquoise embroidered Egyptian kaftan (called a galabia?) which I frequently wore on this visit, and from the reception I got from shop staff, it was clear the Egyptians loved to see Europeans wearing their traditional costumes and honouring their culture in this way. And I have to say, those long robes are actually very cool in the hot sun.

This trip was different from the last one, as I am sure each following trip will be. But it brought many gifts, insights, healing and wisdom as well as a great deal of fun and companionship and sharing. But here is one last insight for you. Reading about it and looking at the photos and films just isn’t enough. You simply have to be there to experience it for yourself.  Come and join us!

Shirlie Roden
1st January 2010